Effect of Microstructure and Hardness on Slurry Erosion Behaviour of A356 Alloy Using Slurry Pot Test Rig

Abstract

A356 alloy is used in pump impeller, casing and pipes in power plant, naval, petrochemical and other applications where slurry erosion occurs. A356 hypoeutectic Al–Si Mg alloy has excellent castability and weldability with good resistance to wear and corrosion properties. The present study focuses on the effect of microstructure and hardness on slurry erosion wear behaviour of A356 alloy. The experiments were carried out on unalloyed A356 without stirring (WS), with stirring A356 (STIR) and the addition of strontium-modified A356 (SR) surface using slurry pot test rig. The indigenous-made laboratory-scale developed test rig was used for present investigation. Experiments were conducted at a constant velocity and constant concentration of solid particles of sample slurry under the impact angle ranging from 15° to 90° with high increment. A high-precision electronic weight balance was used to measure mass loss of the wear sample. The metallographic and material removal analyses were studied by using an optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. It was found that A356 (STIR and SR) alloys exhibited improved properties in terms of hardness and slurry erosion wear resistances than the A356 WS alloy.